Portable soda fountain



Aug. 26, 1969 H, NA'TTER 3,462,970-

I PORTABLE SODA FOUNTAIN Filed March 18, 1968 I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVIZN'IUR.

Aug. 26, 1969 H NATTER 3,462,970

PORTABLE SODA FOUNTAIN 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 18, l

How/W0 A 77279 Arrow 6) H. NATTER Aug. 26, 1969 5 Sheets-Sheet March 18, 1968 United States Patent 3,462,970 PORTABLE SODA FOUNTAIN Howard Natter, 185 Grandview Blvd., Yonkers, N.Y. 10710 Filed Mar. 18, 1968, Ser. No. 713,738 Int. Cl. B67d /62; FZSd 17/06 U.S. Cl. 62392 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The portable soda fountain is capable of home use and can be run on ordinary house current. The water tank is maintained at a substantially constant cool temperature to ensure quality mixing of the carbon dioxide and water in the coils while the coolant circuit is constructed with the ice bank system and refrigeration coil in series.

This invention relates to a portable soda fountain. More particularly, this invention relates to a portable soda fountain which is capable of home-use.

Heretofore, soda fountains have generally been limited to usage in commercial estalishments due to the large bulk required to enclose the piping and refrigeration components of a soda dispensing system. However, a recent demand has arisen for soda fountains which can be installed and used in the home. In many instances the soda fountains which have been made available for home use have been of permanent type construction and have required relatively large electrical power inputs as well as external plumbing. Further, some of these previous installations have required complex piping systems in order to provide a syrup rail for the compartment in which the syrup to be used in making sodas is kept and another rail for the compartment in which water and carbon dioxide are mixed.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a portable soda fountain for home use.

It is another object of the invention to provide a portable soda fountain which can be operated on house current.

It is another object of the invention to eliminate a need for external plumbing for portable soda fountains.

It is another object of the invention to provide a soda fountain with a simple piping system.

Briefly, the invention provides a soda fountain which is portable so as to be moved about in a home. The soda fountain is constructed so as to be operated by house current without any need for external plumbing. The soda fountain contains a refrigeration compartment for storing ice cream, a water tank in which an ice bank is formed and a dispensing head for dispensing carbonated water. The internal piping system of the soda fountain includes a coolant circuit and a dispenser line. The coolant circuit includes a compressor and condenser assembly and a capillary line which first leads from the condenser to an ice cream storage cabinet evaporator coil which operates at a temperature low enough to maintain ice cream frozen, (0 to 5 F.) and then goes to a freezing coil in the water tank where ice is formed and then returns to the suction side of the compressor. The capillary leading from the condenser is coiled around the suction return as a heat exchanger. The dispenser line includes a carbonating tank which is supplied with water, for example, from a house water tap or a jerry can, and carbonic gas from a supply tank suitably mounted within the soda fountain housing. A carbonator pump is connected to the carbonating tank with the water course. The pump acts to force the water into the carbonating tank against the head pressure of the carbonic gas. The pump is designed to act as a suction pump at the inlet and a 3,462,970 Patented Aug. 26, 1969 pressure pump at the outlet enabling any storage container for water to be used. The water and carbonic gas are mixed in the carbonating tank and go into the dispenser line to be cooled in the water bath arranged as a helical coil disposed within the water tank in spaced relation to the ice bank. The coil then connects with a line which passes into the dispensing head.

The soda fountain is such that a reservoir of water is first placed in the water tank and thereafter is cooled by means of the coolant circuit to about 36. Once the ice bank is formed to the proper thickness, a control turns off the compressor. Enough ice is formed to continuously cool more than 10 gallons of incoming water at 70 to 40 F. before the ice would be melted. However, the control cycles the compressor on as soon as the load is applied and the ice bank is rebuilt to proper thickness. The normal heat loss of the water tank is designed to cycle the compressor on a 25% duty cycle. This will maintain the proper temperature in the insulated ice cream compartment. Since the cooling coil of the carbonating circuit is disposed within the cooled water of the water tank, the water and carbonic gas are properly adsorbed to form a good quality of carbonated water.

In order to mix a soda, a suitable glass containing a charge of syrup is placed beneath the dispensing head and the dispensing head is manipulated to dispense a charge of carbonated water into the glass. The carbonated water then mixes with the syrup in the usual manner to provide the soda.

The soda fountain is also constructed to have a syrup containing compartment adjacent to the dispensing head which connects with the water tank. In this way, bottles of syrup can be placed in upstanding fashion in the compartment and maintained in a cooled state by the cooled water in the water tank.

Also, in one embodiment a circulation fan can be placed in the water of the water tank to circulate the water about the coil of the dispensing line in order to prevent localized insulation of the coil by stagnant water, and to constantly circulate the warmed water in the water tank against the surface of the ice bank to maintain the water temperature at a relatively constant 36 F.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a portable soda fountain according to the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the portable soda fountain of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective -view of the coolant circuit and carbonated water dispensing line of the soda fountain of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of the coolant circuit of the invention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic view of the carbonated water dispensing line of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the portable soda fountain 10 includes a housing 11 of such overall dimensions as to be easily moved from place to place. A carbonated water dispensing head 12 of known construction is mounted on the top of the housing 11 at the rear and a pair of compartments 13 are disposed to either side of the dispensing head 12 to hold bottles 14 of syrup. The front of the housing has a door 15 which closes off a refrigeration compartment 17 within the housing 11 wherein ice cream can be stored.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a water tank 16 is housed in the upper end of the housing 11 to contain a supply or bath of water. The water tank 16 has a main section at the front of the housing 11 wherein an ice bank is formed.

a reduced width section centrally of the housing wherein the coil 35 of the dispensing line 28 is contained and raised sections at the rear of the housing for receiving the bases of the syrup bottles 14 contained in the compartments. The tanks 16 is preferably made of plastic; however, any other suitable material can be used. In addition, the tank 16 is insulated about its sides from the housing by any suitable insulation material. Also, the refrigeration compartment 17 is disposed below the main section of the water tank 16 and extends part way into the housing 11 behind the door for storage of ice cream. And a chamber 18 is disposed below the refrigeration compartment 17 to house a supply bottle 19 of carbonic gas.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, a coolant circuit 20 is mounted within the confines of the housing 11 and includes a compressor and condenser assembly 21 of known construction which is mounted in the chamber 18 adjacent the carbonic gas supply bottle 19. The compressor and condenser assembly 21 has a capillary metering supply line 22 which conveys a coolant such as Freon, in a known manner, out of the compressor 21. The capillary metering supply line 22 leads from the condenser of the assembly 21 to an evaporator coil 23 which is coiled about the refrigeration compartment in a known manner to cool the interior of the compartment to a temperature low enough to maintain ice cream frozen, for example, at 0 to 5 F. That is, the temperature of the Freon passing through the evaporator coil is at about -l0 F. A line section 24 connects the evaporator coil 23 in series with an ice bank system 25 mounted in the main section of the water tank 16 for delivering of the coolant to the ice bank system 25. The ice bank system 25 is of known construction and is mounted within the water tank 16 in order to cool the water in the tank 16 and to form and maintain a thickness of ice over the tube coils of the ice bank system 25. The ice bank thus acts as a cold storage reservoir and allows a large instantaneous capacity using a small compressor. A suction return line 27 connects the ice bank system 25 in series with the suction side of the compressor of the assembly 21. The suction return line 27 runs above the rear wall of the water tank 16 and then down the housing to the compressor. Further, the capillary supply line 22 which is of smaller diameter than line 27 in passing to the evaporator coil 23 is coiled about the line 27 downstream of the ice bank system 25 in order to pre-cool the coolant passing to the evaporator coil 23 in a heat exchange relation.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, a carbonated water dispensing line 28 is also mounted within the confines of the housing 11 to deliver carbonated water to the dispensing head 12. This line 28 includes a carbonating pump 29 which is supplied with water through a line 30 connected to a suitable source, such as a sink water tap. A line 32 connects the pump 29 to a closed reservoir 31 into which the supplied water is pumped. Also, a line 33 supplies carbonic gas from the bottle 19 to the reservoir 31 for mixing with the water from the pump. A line 34- into which the mixture of carbonic gas and water are delivered by the reservoir 31 connects with a coil 35, for example, of double concentric ring structure, located within the reduced section of the water tank 16. By virtue of the coil 35 being surrounded by the cooled water in the water tank, the temperature of the carbonic gas and water mixture is reduced to about CF. such that a good quality carbonated water is obtained. A line 36 then leads from the coil 35 into the dispensing head 12 and terminates in a suitable nozzle 37.

In order to operate the soda fountain, the compressor 21 which is run, for example, by an electric motor, and the pump 29 are incorporated in a suitable electrical circuit which is plugged into an electrical house outlet or any other suitable power source of about 15 amps. Thereafter, as the compressor 21 continues to run thereby circulating the coolant through the line into the evaporator coil 23 and ice bank system 25, the refrigeration compartment 17 is cooled and ice is formed on the coils of the ice bank system 25. In order to automatically shut off the flow of coolant through the coolant circuit in response to the temperature of the water in the tank 16, a suitable ice bank control 25' is incorporated in the ice bank system 25 inside the tank 16 to detect the temperature of the water in the tank 16 and connected to the motor of the compressor 21. The ice bank control 25 operates to shut off the compressor motor through a suitable switch upon detection of a temperature below 32 F. and to reactivate the motor upon detection of a temperature above 32 F. In addition, the carbonating pump 29 which is also activated on house current runs in an intermittent manner to maintain a supply of a mixture of water and carbon dioxide in the reservoir 31 in which the line 34 is submerged. In order to control this intermittent actuation of the pump 29, a suitable control such as a level control mercury switch is incorporated on the side of the reservoir so that as the gas and water mixture falls below a certain level, the pump is activated to deliver more water from the water supply source to the reservoir while more gas is supplied under pressure from the bottle 19. Also, as the gas and water mixture rises above a certain level, the pump is shut off to cause the flow of water to cease. At the same time, the fiow of gas ceases due to a build up of pressure in the reservoir 31.

In order to make a soda, a charge of syrup from one of the bottles 14 is squirted into a glass and the glass placed beneath the nozzle 37 of the dispensing head 12. Next, the dispensing head 12 is manipulated to cause a stream of carbonated water to How through the line 36 and out of the nozzle 37 into the glass.

Referring finally to FIGS. 2 and 3, in order to avoid any stagnation of water about the coil 35 in the water tank 16, the water is stirred intermittently as by an impeller 38 powered by an independent motor 39. The motor 39 is mounted on a suitable ledge of the housing to allow the impeller 38 to depend into the rear section of the water tank 16, and is controlled by a manually operated electrical switch.

The invention thus provides a soda fountain which is portable and which can be easily installable in a home, for example, in a recreation room or used at catered functions. The soda fountain is capable of being operated off house current so that special wiring is not required. Also, the water supply for the soda fountain while described above as being a house water tap can alternatively be a bottled supply of water or a jerry can which can be connected to the pump. Also, a water storage compartment can be provided with a tank which is prefilled to supply water to the pump 29 in order to make a quantity of carbonated water limited to the capacity of the tank.

It is noted that the invention also permits ice cream to be maintained in the refrigeration compartment at the proper temperature to keep the ice cream firm.

It is also noted that while the housing is illustrated as having smooth flat surfaces, that condiment-retaining recesses can also be placed within the top surfaces, for example, to outside of the sides of the reduced section of the water tank.

Having thus described the invention, it is not intended that it be so limited as changes may be readily made therein without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the foregoing Abstract of the Disclosure and the subject matter described above and shown in the drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is: 1. A portable soda fountain comprising:

a housing,

a water tank disposed in said housing,

an ice bank system disposed in said water tank for freezing a volume of water in said tank to ice to act as a cold storage reservoir,

a refrigeration compartment disposed in said housing in spaced relation to said water tank,

a refrigeration coil disposed about said refrigeration compartment and connected prior to and in series with said ice bank system,

means for circulating a coolant in series through said refrigeration coil and said ice bank system to cool and maintain said refrigeration compartment and said water tank at different temperatures,

a carbonated Water dispensing line having a coil disposed Within said tank for cooling of a mixture of water and carbon dioxide in said coil,

agitating means to maintain the temperature of the Water about said coil immediately above freezing,

means in said housing for supplying a mixture of water and carbon dioxide to said dispensing line, and

a dispensing head mounted on said housing for dis pensing a cooled mixture of the water and carbon dioxide from said dispensing line.

2. A portable soda fountain as set forth in claim 1 wherein said ice bank system maintains a volume of ice in said tank sufiicient to continously cool more than ten gallons of incoming Water at 70 F. to 40 F. before melting.

3. A portable soda fountain as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for circulating a coolant includes a small compressor.

4. A portable soda fountain as set forth in claim 1 wherein said ice bank system includes an ice bank control in said tank near said dispensing line coil for intermittently activating said means for circulating the coolant in response to a predetermined volume of ice in said Water tank.

5. A portable soda fountain as set forth in claim 1 further comprising means in said housing in communication With said Water tank for receiving a bottle of syrup therein whereby a received bottle is disposed in the water in said Water tank for cooling.

6. A portable soda fountain as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for circulating coolant includes a small compressor, a capillary metering tube connected between said compressor and said refrigeration coil for conveying the coolant to said refrigeration coil and said ice bank system in series and a suction return line between said ice bank system and said compressor, said capillary metering tube being partially coiled about said suction return line.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,846,190 2/1932 Dyer 62-393 1,980,500 11/1934 Reed 62393 2,341,961 2/1944 Tanner 62393 2,488,435 11/1949 Ritter 62392 3,270,520 9/ 1966 Geisler 62-393 LLOYD L. KING, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 62-393, 394 

